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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · stick · lie · snap · spell · cell · tube · last

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. cell — a phone
  3. spell — letters
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. last — final
  6. cell — in biology
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spell — a short time
  10. snap — to click
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chair — a leader
  14. last — to go on
  15. spell — magic
  16. tube — a container
  17. last — finally
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. stick — a piece of wood

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com